Alvin Kamara's Long-Term Future 'Uncertain' With Saints

The New Orleans Saints' running back room is going to be under a microscope over the next few weeks.

New Orleans restructured Alvin Kamara's deal ahead of free agency in a flurry of moves in order to get into salary cap compliance. It wasn't just a simple restructuring, though. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported the creative restructuring known as the "50 Percent Rule" on X.

So, with Kamara, the Saints used the 50% rule, which they can do when the second year salary is less than the first.

Kamara's salary next year is listed at $1.345M, which means they were able to prorate $10.155M this year on the books.

Works like a signing bonus on the books,…
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) March 6, 2026

The Saints have work to do

Nov 9, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) high fives New Orleans Saints running back Devin Neal (24) during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

With one year left on his deal and coming off an injury-filled 2025 season, the Saints need to think of the long-term direction of the running back room. Travis Etienne Jr. is someone who has been linked to New Orleans.

ESPN's Katherine Terrell added more fuel to the idea of New Orleans needing to add to the running back room while saying that Kamara's long-term future is "uncertain."

"The Saints reworked Kamara's contract in a different way than their typical restructures," Terrell wrote. "The NFL collective bargaining agreement has a provision for contracts, known as the 50 percent rule, that says the player's salary and bonuses cannot be less than the remaining prorated portion of the signing bonus for that year. A restructure of Kamara's contract would have added $2.04 million to each year -- more than the $1.35 million base salary allocated for the 2027 contract year. ...

"The Saints used this tactic with defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins in 2020, when they restructured his contract, allowing them to spread out a portion of his fifth-year option salary over several years. Kamara's previous cap number of $18.63 million was one of the highest on the team. He'll turn 31 on July 25 and has finished the past two seasons unable to play because of injuries. That makes his long-term future uncertain, with the team possibly looking to get younger and spend less at this position."

The Saints have work to do this offseason and it will begin on Monday. If the Saints want to sign a running back in free agency, they're going to need to be aggressive because the market is going to open on Monday and New Orleans isn't the only team that needs a running back.